This invention pertains to child-resistant container assemblies. It relates particularly to child-resistant medicine bottles.
With the passage of the Poison Prevention Packaging Act and increased public awareness of the situation to which it relates, it has become of particular importance to provide a practical, commercially acceptable container assembly of this class.
Prior art addressing the situation includes the following: Turecek U.S. Pat. No. 3,393,815; Hall U.S. Pat. No. 3,811,590; Deussen U.S. Pat. No. 3,827,592; Claasen U.S. Pat. No. 3,831,796; O'Connor et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,841,513; Chahley U.S. Pat. No. 3,912,116;
The devices of the foregoing and other prior art references do not, however, provide a satisfactory solution to the various problems attending the use of such containers.
One such problem resides in the fact that container closures which are child-resistant are also resistant to opening by the elderly, arthritic, and physically impaired who have valid reason for gaining access to the container contents. Old and feeble adults often cannot physically turn a bottle cap past an intended hindrance. Where the containers have a child-resistant cap of small size, the rigid fingers and immobile joints of arthritic or otherwise physically malformed or impaired persons are physically incapable of grasping the cap tightly and applying strength adequate to perform the required action of cap turning, lifting or pressing.
The resultant barrier to gaining access to the bottle contents has produced considerable adult frustration and resultant erratic behavior. Medicine containers are broken intentionally or accidentally when over agressive cap removal is attempted. Medication loss, spillage, or contamination with dirt and glass results. If the effort to open the container is not successful, time delay and missed medical treatments result.
Adults thus frequently elect to transfer medication from child-resistant cap containers to conventionally capped bottles labeled for other drugs. This leads to later confusion. Alternatively, adults have simply left the tops off of the containers.
Other problems which beset the provision of suitable child-resistant containers are the necessity for simple design so that it may be manufactured easily and inexpensively; the necessity of providing a container of simple, unobtrusive design which does not attract attention and offer to the child the challenge of solving a mechanical puzzle; the necessity of providing a moisture-proof closure which seals off the container contents from medicine-degrading atmospheric moisture; and the necessity of providing a closure which does not act upon opening to spill the contents.
Generally stated, the child-resistant container assembly of my invention which overcomes the foregoing and other problems attending the use of the prior art containers comprises a bottle or other container having a neck and a plug or other closure insertable in the neck with its upper surface flush, or slightly below, the plane of the upper surface of the neck.
Threaded or other rotary interengaging means interengage the closure and container neck. A key, preferably having a size too large to be grasped by a child, is adapted to overlie the closure. The key and closure are provided with gravity-actuated pin and socket means which are operative to engage the closure with the neck and disengage it therefrom. Thus in use it is easy for an adult, taking advantage of the leverage offered by the large diameter key, to apply the key and to open the bottle. On the other hand, it is very difficult for a child to do so because he cannot grasp the key effectively and because the key is operative only in the upright position of the bottle.